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Letter: Flashing Headlights Not Illegal Act

In Cedarville on Arkansas 59, the police set up radar. Another police officer is stationed a short distance away with the side view mirror on the patrol vehicle set to catch drivers warning other drivers of the radar by flashing the headlights of their vehicle. This practice by drivers, according to the Cedarville police, is “obstructing a government official,” and you can be given a citation.

This very same charge has been taken to the Florida courts, where the charge was overturned, resulting in a change to the Florida statutes making the violation illegal. In fact, a civil lawsuit was filed against that Florida county for violation of the First Amendment rights of the driver. The states of Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey have ruled that flashing headlights to warn drivers ahead is legal and covered by the First Amendment. Cedarville police insist it “stops them from finding other criminals” whom they find when they stop you for speeding.

Flashing headlights is not obstruction because it is preventing the commission of a violation rather than the discovery of one. It appears the real reason to stop you for flashing headlights is that you have prevented collection of municipal revenue from traffic citations.

There are larger problems in Cedarville — meth labs, for example — than a driver flashing headlights. I believe anyone cited by Cedarville police for flashing headlights should hire an attorney and demand a court date on the basis of the First Amendment.